10 Truly Awesome TVs for Every Budget

Just the Best TV, Period. This is the one. If you want the very best TV available right now, skip the rest of this list and get the LG EF9500. It's an OLED set, so it has the best black levels and contrast you've ever seen. It's a 4K set, so it has needle-sharp resolution. And it's flat, which is a frustratingly new trait for OLED sets. The only catch: The 55-incher costs $3,000, and the 65-incher costs $5,000. That's really expensive for a TV of its size, but it's a steal for an OLED TV. If you have the cash, buy it.

The Absurdly Expensive Tier. If you want a TV that doubles as a tanning bed, Vizio's Reference series is where it's at. Vizio built its flagship sets to display Dolby Vision content—the first sets that can do that—which is destined to become the flagship format for HDR video. And the TVs look stunning, with onscreen flames that look like real fire, specular highlights that glint off chrome, and 384 zones of local dimming to keep blacks deep amid all that luster. The 65-incher costs a pretty penny at $6,000. The 120-incher? Buy a lotto ticket, because it's $130 grand.

The Absurdly Expensive Tier. There are first-world problems, and then there are first-percenter problems. For instance: Should you buy a 120-inch Vizio Reference set or two Sony 4K short-throw projectors and a college education? Clocking in at $50,000, this Sony LSPX-W1S 4K Ultra Short Throw laser projector just hugs right up against a wall and beams a perfect image up onto it. If image size is everything, this is a better deal than that huge Vizio TV too: It'll project a sharp picture up to 147 inches on the diagonal.

Mid-Tier Gems. While Vizio's Reference Series sets are super-expensive, the brand is more well-known for its lower-cost but high-performing sets (and, more recently, its nefarious data-collection practices). The 60-inch Vizio M60-C3 4K set is the jewel of the company's mid-range M lineup, and it offers excellent features for its reasonable $1,200 price: A full-array backlight system with 32 zones of local dimming (translation: good picture and contrast for an LCD set), built-in apps, and a slick slim-bezel design.

Mid-Tier Gems. 70 inches is a BIG screen, and at that size, 4K resolution is very noticeable. With all that in mind, $1,900 is one hell of a deal. Sharp's LC-70UE30U 70-inch 4K TV delivers all the latest Smart TV features, built-in Wi-Fi, and a Web browser—and because it runs Android TV, you can use it as a Chromecast without any extra dongles.

Mid-Tier Gems. Sony's mid-tier X810C 4K TV won't bowl you over with its looks, but it's a 4K set with very good picture quality for the price. This set also runs Android TV, meaning you have a nice suite of apps and built-in Chromecast features at the ready. At $1,100 for a 55-inch set, it's a solid pick for smaller living rooms in which you might be sitting closer to the set.

Low-End Superstars. You're smart. Sure, you're interested in 4K, and the prices are coming down, and there's a lot more 4K content available than there was a year ago. Still, prices on premium Ultra HD sets will continue to drop, and in the meantime, you just need a serviceable HDTV. Try this one: Sony's KDL-40R510C 1080p HDTV. It costs less than $500 for a 40-inch panel, it has great picture quality for the cost, and it's Reviewed.com's pick for the best bargain-priced TV out there.

Low-End Superstars. Buying a TV with a built-in Chromecast is one thing. What if you want a set that offers serviceable 1080-line picture quality but has a full-on Roku built in? That's the main draw with the sub-$400 40-inch TCL Roku TV 40FS3850, which comes equipped with the best streaming-TV ecosystem baked right in. If $350 or so still seems a little steep, there's also a 32-inch model for around $220 (just keep in mind that it's a 720p TV).

Low-End Superstars. Remember when 4K TVs cost several thousand dollars? Probably, because it was only about a year ago. At 50 inches, the Panasonic Viera TC-50CX600U is on the small side for an Ultra HD TV, but once you look at the price, you won't care: Less than $1,000 for a 4K TV with a Firefox OS-based smart ecosystem and decent picture quality. Don't expect the same image quality as a top-tier 4K set. You get what you pay for, but at least you get all those extra pixels.

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10 Truly Awesome TVs for Every Budget

Just the Best TV, Period. This is the one. If you want the very best TV available right now, skip the rest of this list and get the LG EF9500. It's an OLED set, so it has the best black levels and contrast you've ever seen. It's a 4K set, so it has needle-sharp resolution. And it's flat, which is a frustratingly new trait for OLED sets. The only catch: The 55-incher costs $3,000, and the 65-incher costs $5,000. That's really expensive for a TV of its size, but it's a steal for an OLED TV. If you have the cash, buy it.

The Absurdly Expensive Tier. If you want a TV that doubles as a tanning bed, Vizio's Reference series is where it's at. Vizio built its flagship sets to display Dolby Vision content—the first sets that can do that—which is destined to become the flagship format for HDR video. And the TVs look stunning, with onscreen flames that look like real fire, specular highlights that glint off chrome, and 384 zones of local dimming to keep blacks deep amid all that luster. The 65-incher costs a pretty penny at $6,000. The 120-incher? Buy a lotto ticket, because it's $130 grand.

The Absurdly Expensive Tier. There are first-world problems, and then there are first-percenter problems. For instance: Should you buy a 120-inch Vizio Reference set or two Sony 4K short-throw projectors and a college education? Clocking in at $50,000, this Sony LSPX-W1S 4K Ultra Short Throw laser projector just hugs right up against a wall and beams a perfect image up onto it. If image size is everything, this is a better deal than that huge Vizio TV too: It'll project a sharp picture up to 147 inches on the diagonal.

Mid-Tier Gems. While Vizio's Reference Series sets are super-expensive, the brand is more well-known for its lower-cost but high-performing sets (and, more recently, its nefarious data-collection practices). The 60-inch Vizio M60-C3 4K set is the jewel of the company's mid-range M lineup, and it offers excellent features for its reasonable $1,200 price: A full-array backlight system with 32 zones of local dimming (translation: good picture and contrast for an LCD set), built-in apps, and a slick slim-bezel design.

Mid-Tier Gems. 70 inches is a BIG screen, and at that size, 4K resolution is very noticeable. With all that in mind, $1,900 is one hell of a deal. Sharp's LC-70UE30U 70-inch 4K TV delivers all the latest Smart TV features, built-in Wi-Fi, and a Web browser—and because it runs Android TV, you can use it as a Chromecast without any extra dongles.

Mid-Tier Gems. Sony's mid-tier X810C 4K TV won't bowl you over with its looks, but it's a 4K set with very good picture quality for the price. This set also runs Android TV, meaning you have a nice suite of apps and built-in Chromecast features at the ready. At $1,100 for a 55-inch set, it's a solid pick for smaller living rooms in which you might be sitting closer to the set.

Low-End Superstars. You're smart. Sure, you're interested in 4K, and the prices are coming down, and there's a lot more 4K content available than there was a year ago. Still, prices on premium Ultra HD sets will continue to drop, and in the meantime, you just need a serviceable HDTV. Try this one: Sony's KDL-40R510C 1080p HDTV. It costs less than $500 for a 40-inch panel, it has great picture quality for the cost, and it's Reviewed.com's pick for the best bargain-priced TV out there.

Low-End Superstars. Buying a TV with a built-in Chromecast is one thing. What if you want a set that offers serviceable 1080-line picture quality but has a full-on Roku built in? That's the main draw with the sub-$400 40-inch TCL Roku TV 40FS3850, which comes equipped with the best streaming-TV ecosystem baked right in. If $350 or so still seems a little steep, there's also a 32-inch model for around $220 (just keep in mind that it's a 720p TV).

Low-End Superstars. Remember when 4K TVs cost several thousand dollars? Probably, because it was only about a year ago. At 50 inches, the Panasonic Viera TC-50CX600U is on the small side for an Ultra HD TV, but once you look at the price, you won't care: Less than $1,000 for a 4K TV with a Firefox OS-based smart ecosystem and decent picture quality. Don't expect the same image quality as a top-tier 4K set. You get what you pay for, but at least you get all those extra pixels.

No matter what your budget is, there's been no better time to buy a TV. 4K is getting cheap, OLED prices are coming down to earth, and they're practically giving away high-definition sets. Whether your budget is $130,000 or $220, here are the top TV gift picks for that lucky person on your list.